Joel 2:23 “Be glad then, you children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God; For He has given you the former rain faithfully and He will cause the rain to come down for you — the former rain, and the latter rain”.
Rain, when I think of rain I think of good sleeping weather. I just recently had a new tin roof put on my home. As I lie in the bed at night listening to the ping, ping, ping of the rain drops on my roof I get very sleepy. There is just something about the rain hitting the roof and sleep.
Then there is the lesson that I feel God is trying to teach through the rain. He talks of the former rains and the latter rains. In the bible, rain is sometimes used as a blessing. Rain is easily seen as a blessing when it waters our crops which cause our food supply to become plenteous. However, rain is much more.
Rain can be cleansing. Have you ever seen a child run out side to play in the rain? I remember my children and grandchildren running out to play in the rain. As soon as they got outside they would look up into the heavens and close their eyes then stick out their tongue and catch the rain drops in their mouth. They would come in looking like drowned rats. I would dry them off and my son said, “at least I’m clean, now I don’t have to take a bath.”
Well, that is a way to clean your physical body, but it takes more than that to cleanse your spiritual body, your soul. It takes the blood of Jesus to cleanse our soul.
I John 1:7 “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”
It is a personal decision to accept the cleansing blood of Jesus or not. It is my prayer that you not only cleanse your physical body but your spiritual body as well.
The early rains prepare the ground in order for the seed to sprout, just as the new Christian needs the word of God to grow and become strong in the Lord. Without the early rain, the seed would not germinate and grow into a plant which produces fruit. Without early intervention a new Christian sometimes falls by the wayside and becomes disillusioned with the church and does not produce fruit.
Have you ever been outside or driving down the highway and it begin to get dark and then rain real hard for just a second then stop? I remember thinking what a tease; it needs to rain more than that, what good will this do? It starts the process of growth. On the other hand I have been driving and it rain so hard I could not see directly in front of me. This is the later rain.
The later rain comes in time to enrich the harvest. It causes the plants to grow at rapid speeds and produce much fruit. This is the rain I want to fall on my life. Lord please send the later rain and help me to produce much fruit, help me to win lost souls for your Kingdom.
Have you been cleansed by the blood of the Lamb? Have you asked God to send the latter rains in order to grow in your walk with him? Are you producing much fruit? If not, now is the time to ask God to meet whatever need you may have today.